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The Expat Bubble Trap in France: Why You Still Don’t Speak French

French Lifestyle by Johnny Benoit

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How to learn the French you actually need in France?
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You moved to France. You live surrounded by French. So why can you still spend an entire week speaking almost none of it?

The answer may be the expat bubble.

In this video, I explain why living in France does not automatically teach you French, how English-speaking networks can unintentionally keep you isolated, and what changes when French becomes part of your real social life.

We look at:

• Why exposure is not the same as participation
• How helpful bilingual people can accidentally maintain the bubble
• Why competent adults hate making mistakes
• How learning French expands your social world
• Why your personality starts coming back in French
• The seven-day test that reveals how much French you really use
• How to build regular French conversation into your life

You do not need to abandon your English-speaking friends or become an ascetic monk of irregular verbs. You need somewhere real for French to live.

This video is for anyone moving to France, living in France, learning French as an adult, or wondering why immersion has not worked as expected.

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Enquiries: johnny.benoit@hotmail.com

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20 Comments

@french_lifestyle_johnny_benoit Creator 2 days ago Pinned

@aiwi9498 1 day ago

I love your content and your dry humor. It’s truly a delight.😂

@jskohut 1 day ago

I'm surrounded by helpful bi-linguals, who have recently stopped speaking so much English to me. Now it's slow but pretty simple French (only the caviste is speaking at a rapid clip, but I'm fairly comfortable with his way of speaking...and I'm motivated to get a decent bottle of wine). I respond with as much French as I can and always ALWAYS thank them for their patience. They all have a version of, "It's ok. I can barely speak french myself" in response. Slow going, but I'm getting there. I'm back in school for it too, so that helps.

@LivinCindysLife 1 day ago

Johnny, this video was so good that I am watching it again. Your insight on this subject is spot-on. After two years of dedicated daily study of French, weekly conversation groups, passing Pimsleur French 5, testing at B1-speaking and C1-comprehension, I’m finally here, in my very own home. It’s a small town in the Loire Valley, with a surprising number of English-speaking expats. Word traveled very quickly that “new Americans had arrived,” and — in a matter of weeks — my dance card is full! Lunches, apéros, brocante shopping… This is not a complaint, as I am thrilled to make new friends (and enjoy the comfort of communicating in English), but as I mentioned to my Italki tutor, “I am speaking less French here than I did in the States!” It is easy to become lazy. Your subconscious says, “Why study? I am living here!” But the Bonjours, S’il vous plaits, Une baguette, etc. end up being the majority of one’s interactions with French people. Until… as I was slapped back to reality yesterday, it comes time to truly communicate in rapid French. Renewing my car rental at the Super U was a debilitating moment for me when the woman at the counter was not as patient while having to repeat or speak more slowly. I think I caught about half of what she said, and I paid two deposits, but the “régalement” will wash out in the end. There’s a lesson in all of this, and it’s simply, don’t get complacent. It’s so easy to lose it, if you don’t use it!

@michaelrice500 1 day ago (edited)

Johnny, how could you be so knowledgeable and wise without having lived 150 years? Vos conseils sont excellents et je les garderai précieusement. (did I get that right??? I had to look up précieusement, to be honest)

@french_lifestyle_johnny_benoit Creator 2 days ago

I am very happy and proud to announce that my new book, "Unmoored", is now available. This is the English translation of my French short novel "Les Illusions itinérantes" published about a year ago.
As I was translating it, I also took the opportunity to add content at the end of the book, absent from the French edition. This is therefore the definitive version of that book and story.
In addition to the paperback edition, it is also available in hardcover format. Full transparency: if you intend to purchase the book, don't get the hardcover if your only reason for doing so is "I want Johnny to make more money". The higher price tag is actually due to a higher printing cost, not royalties. So only get the hardcover if you do want the "nicer looking" edition.
Finally, please note this is a "serious" fiction, so don't go in expecting my silly YouTube persona. I just don't want you to be disappointed.
If you go ahead and give the book a chance, I really do hope you will have an interesting reading experience, and feel free to leave your review online.
Here are the links to get the book:

United States: amazon.com/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
United Kingdom: amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
France: amazon.fr/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Germany: amazon.de/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Spain: amazon.es/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Italy: amazon.it/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Canada: amazon.ca/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Japan: amazon.co.jp/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Netherlands: amazon.nl/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Ireland: amazon.ie/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Belgium: amazon.com.be/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Poland: amazon.pl/dp/B0HJRPCLN1
Sweden: amazon.se/dp/B0HJRPCLN1

@evp-nyc 1 day ago

Unfortunately a bubble will be necessary. We’re 80 and 74 and haven’t spoken French since high school, with the exception of a few short visits. We will do our best to re learn what we can. Fortunately we live on a mountain top in Vermont and barely go anywhere. So this is perfect training for isolation.

@ChaosToCroissants 1 day ago

The expat bubble is an expensive trap. When we land near Strasbourg, the plan is orbit, not entry. Close enough for an occasional sanity check, far enough out that daily life actually forces real integration. 😉

@Tino.1 24 minutes ago (edited)

Merci Johnny. Tu es le meilleur prof.

@SixBadges 16 hours ago

21:55 Enfin de la pluie – on en avait besoin.

@SausalitoVicki 1 day ago

Oh, Johnny! ❤️ What an insightful (but funny!🤣) vidéo! “French hurts, English makes it better…”. So astute.

@AledPritchard 15 hours ago (edited)

“Collecting Marks & Spencer vouchers” and “Victor Hugo in a fleece” AND the use of the character, ‘Janine’! You paint the picture of the uk immigrant very accurately! Paaahahahahaha

@elizzy8754 1 day ago

As you progress in French, don't neglect the resources of your local library*. The librarians will be only too happy to suggest books for you, or local language-learning resources. Even if you just sit in the library for an hour looking at periodicals, or the publications of the local historical society (actually, fascinating) you will absorb vocabulary. *Town with a library was one of our must-have search criteria.

@CathyDahut 11 hours ago

MERCI BEAUCOUP JOHNNY!!!!!!!

@ttnyny 1 day ago (edited)

Étudiant étranger en France dans les années 1980, je me suis efforcé de rester en immersion linguistique. Cela impliquait d'éviter la plupart de mes camarades américains, sans toutefois les fuir tous. En restant en contact avec les quelques Américains qui avaient adopté la même démarche que moi, nous avons formé une petite communauté d'apprenants où nous nous sentions à l'aise pour commettre des erreurs de grammaire ou de prononciation entre nous. Bien entendu, je m'efforçais également d'entrer en contact avec la population locale. Au fil du temps, j'ai noué quelques relations et acquis l'assurance nécessaire pour tenter d'engager la conversation avec des inconnus. Cette année passée sur place, suivie de plus de deux années de bénévolat en Afrique francophone, a permis de consolider mes compétences. Hélas, aujourd'hui, mes contacts avec la langue française se limitent essentiellement à YouTube!

@VAEagle-q5t 1 day ago

An autre superb video !! Merci pour exprimer l'importance de l'apprendisage de français c'est très important pour l'assimilation et même pour visiter la France !! Oh, votre chats sont très mignons aussi 😸💕🇫🇷

@joseph1866 5 hours ago

❤

@SixBadges 17 hours ago

06:00 My sharp detective instinct tells me that this was filmed in early October. Which reminds me; I must go and get a ribbon from the mairie 🎀

@carysmith-bonjour 1 day ago

Everything you’re saying is so true.. I’m a prime example of the “everyone speaks English”.. what makes my situation bad is that I’m actually a dual French citizen who speaks very bad French . I was raised in America with a French mother and spent most summers growing up in France .. unfortunately the moment I was in France with my family.. mainly my cousins, they generally spoke English with me.. not sure if it was my bad French or their desire to practice English., but this continued my entire life 🙄.. C'est dommage!

@emcarver8983 23 hours ago (edited)

This is why I avoided ex pat areas when I came to France. I am in The Berry Cher 18. A very few people have a little English and they love to use it. I came with no French and am now probably low to medium intermediate. Because I live in a rural village, of course, there is no access to language learning. So I have sometimes felt like a new enlister in the French foreign legion. I tend to improve in lumps and Jerks.